For the Redskins, the question remains to be seen: Is ‘good’ good enough?
It’s a question every sports franchise, including the Washington Redskins, might find themselves asking on occasion. And yet it’s the burning question that some might refuse to entertain. What if, after all the hard work you put in, all the building you accomplished, you were ultimately doomed to fall short of your goal?
We’ve seen it happen, time and time again, in the NFL. Teams make the playoffs one year, rest on their laurels, and settle for ‘good enough’. Suddenly, the next year, good enough isn’t good at all, and the foundation is upheaved as the building process starts over again.
The Redskins seem to be clinging to an uneven foundation. They had a chance to fire Jay Gruden and start anew after the 2018 season, in which Washington went 7-9 for the second consecutive year. They got rid of a good portion of his staff. But Gruden stayed.
Much will be theorized, regarding why Gruden was kept around, or whether or not the team is fully committed to him for the future. But one thing is certain; Jay Gruden is still in the building. And as long as he’s still around, he has a chance to extend his residence. But first, there are a few things he needs to do, to maximize his potential as a head coach.
No. 3 – Keep the team ready, win a respectable amount of games
This has been the Achilles heel of Jay Gruden-coached teams in the past. They win a game, and show out doing so, and then the next week, they come out flat, appearing unprepared and sluggish. It’s hard to quantify how much of that has been Jay Gruden, and how much of that has been personnel, but it’s been a trend under Gruden, and as head coach, he’s in prime position to make it a non-issue.
Making it a non-issue hasn’t happened yet, but perhaps, with his seat on fire, Gruden can tap into whatever reserve he’s left untouched over the past five years, and ascend as a leader of men. These stories don’t often end well for the protagonist. But as long as Gruden still has the job, he still has a chance.
If I were going for cliches, I would say Gruden needs to take a page from the Patriots playbook, and up the intensity level, both on the practice field, and in film study, and foster more accountability. But it’s ultimately up to Gruden to strike the perfect balance between education and enjoyment. The balance that best fits this group of players.
If the Redskins current roster doesn’t have the entire mental makeup necessary to succeed, that’s another story. But Gruden needs to catalyze a hard-working environment, while also preserving the kind of culture that builds chemistry, improves team morale, and ultimately improves play quality. It’s a tough balance to find. But the clock is working against Gruden. He must end the search soon. And if he loses games past a certain threshold in 2019, he won’t be back.
No. 2 – Help facilitate quick development of Dwayne Haskins
It didn’t quite make sense for the Redskins to add a rookie quarterback with Jay Gruden’s future up in the air. But in a sense, Dwayne Haskins is what Jay Gruden needed. Dwayne Haskins gives Jay Gruden a lifeline.
With Haskins now in tow, Gruden, as a head coach with an offensive background, is directly tied to the development of Haskins. Of course, other team officials like Doug Williams, Kevin O’Connell, Matt Cavanaugh, and Tim Rattay will be involved in Haskins’ development as well, but Gruden is the hands-on leader of the operation. It’s up to him to ensure that, tangibly, Haskins is on the right track.
If Haskins ends up starting early in the season, and if he flourishes, then the Redskins have an obligation to maintain his developmental path, and proceed forward with minimal structural upheaval around him.
Of course, Gruden’s fate in this scenario is still left up to interpretation. If the Redskins know that Gruden is just good, and not good enough, they could fire him anyway, and proceed forward with Kevin O’Connell, who is somewhat of a name on the rise, and an offensive mind with a more modern philosophy. It all depends on Gruden’s role in Haskins’ development. If he helps facilitate a successful developmental path, then he can’t reasonably be let go.
No. 1 – Delegate offensive roles to other staff members
In the past, Jay Gruden has juggled a number of roles for the Redskins. He’s been the head coach for five years, and obviously, that one role alone comes with a multitude of responsibilities. But on top of that, Gruden has also been the offensive coordinator for most of those years, and he’s also been the one to deal with clock management, and other in-game roles.
With these roles, Gruden has experienced minimal success, and maximal stagnation. The team has been marred by inconsistency, and while the brightest moments have been bright, the team has more often failed to rise to the occasion. And while there’s never one cause for such a trend of failure, Gruden’s lack of clarity as a head coach could factor in.
Perhaps, if Gruden were to delegate more roles to other staff members, such as relinquishing offensive coordinator duties to Kevin O’Connell, he could focus on the more essential roles of a head coach: Leadership, establishing accountability, game planning and contingency planning, adapting, player development, player relations. And with less on his plate, perhaps Gruden could perform with greater success, in the roles maintained.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that, by delegating, Gruden could lose his job. O’Connell could shine as the offensive coordinator, and convince the team to cut ties with Gruden, and effectively move forward with O’Connell. But Gruden’s last chance doesn’t rest with his offensive play calling abilities. Gruden’s last chance is to be the best head coach he can be, even if that means reducing the size of his scope.
In the end, suspicions might be confirmed, that Jay Gruden is not the right man to lead the Washington Redskins in the present day. But as long as Gruden still has his job, he has a chance to prove to the front office that he’s good enough. Something has to change. If Gruden is truly good enough, something will change. And if he isn’t, then it will be someone else’s point to prove in 2020.